Floor covering



Patented May 28, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT oral-cs 2,202,488 ruooa COVERING James E. Graham, Needham, andv Edwin M. Lines, Dedham, Mass, assignors to Bird '& Son, inc., East Walpole, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts No Drawing. Application February 21, 1938,

Serial No. 191,730

12 Claims. (01. 41-26) with the pores of the body structure filled with a hardened binder material.

The present invention contemplates, first, the manufacture of a fioor covering either by applying to a porous base, a previously formed sheet of paper all-over decorated by roll printing and also block printed prior to the adhesive attachment to the base, or by a suitable adhesive initially attaching a plain or all-over decorated sheet to the base and then roll printing and/or block printing after said attachment, the printing being conducted as hereinafter described, and contemplates, second, the manufacture of thefloor covering by applying to the base a smooth-surfaced, permeable plastic wearing layer. plain or colored, and then block printing, or roll and block printing the same. In either 80 case, the present invention includes the provision of an all-over decorated material, either a permeable plastic material, or an all-over decorated permeable or porous paper medium, to provide a,

background coloring and thereafter printing 8! upon the said permeable medium, preferably with a drying oil binder pigmented .with-a type of coloring pigment which, because of its vextremely small size and penetrating character, is herein termed penetrating pigment, as here- '40 inaftcr described, with resultant advantages in product and process, particularly in the excellence of printing and in its decorative appearance. The product also exhibits more accurate lines and better definition of the design elelli ments than has heretofore been practical orpossible--all of which are conducive'to a more serviceable and more attractive product. Various process and manufacturing advantages are also secured by this invention in that the color- 60 ing material may be rapidly and accuratelyprinted on' either the plastic and the paperlike absorbent mediums and so that they will be substantially free from flooding or running on the block printing machine, despite the'skip space 68 block printing, and despite the relatively large amount of colored binder printed thereon as compared with the thickness of the material printed;

The floor covering of this invention embodies a wearing layer of substantial thickness of abl sorbent material, either a'fibrous' absorbent paper or paperlike material, or a smooth-surfaced permeable plastic wearing layer adherently secured to a base layer. In either case the wearing layer, whether of the paper type or plastic type, is printed-with an all-overv printing by means of a roll (av copper-engraved intaglio 'roll or a raised figure roll), which'all-over printing may or may not be continuous so as to cover the entire area of the wearing layer so long as the all-over design extends substantially throughout the width and length dimensions of the sheet or finished product. In the case of the fibrous or paper type of wearing layer, such all-over printing may be conducted either before or after 20 the application of the wearing layer to the base and involves the printing, for example, of say a latticed, net-work, marbelized, mottled, or simi- .lar all-over design of either a'dye-colored or pigment-colored printing material in an amount 25 insuflicient to fill the voids of the porous layer. Then, after being so printed, whether or not the intermediate productat such stage is completely d y,- is then skip-spaced printed by means of a floor covering block printing machine as well known in the art which, by a series of blocks prints a design thereon, said design may extend either throughout the exposed surface of the material or simply a portion thereof so long as the all-over design previously printed be exposed so that the block printing is what may be termed a skip-space printing of a design, which meets or even overlaps the continuous all-over printing previously accomplished by the roll. Thus. the ultimate decorative surface of the-wearing o layer covers the entire surface and is made up of exposed portions of the first or'all-over printing plus the subsequent skip-space block printing which overlies a portion of the all-over printing. Contrary to what naturally would be 'ex- (5 pected, it has been found that by applying a rather small quantity'of the coloring material in the first printing that the penetration of the skip-space or subsequent printing is not materially affected and that such subsequent printing and design thereof penetrates a major portion of the vertical depth of the wearing layer so that the said design remains clear and distinct despite very substantial wear of'the floor covering.

The printing medium employed for'each print- I ing is preferably, though not necessarily, colored binder material including a drying oil (together with any resinous materials desired) pigmented with a relatively fine homogeneously dispersed colored pigment, for example, such pigment may be what is commercially known as flushed pigments in oil, or may be finely ground oil-dispersed pigments. In the case of the block printing,medium, it preferably includes, in addition, a quantity of substantially colorless pigments of the class known and described in technical literature, as mineral whites, which are substantially colorless or practically transparent in oil owing to their low refractive power, and of the order of 5-150 microns, as compared with the penetrating coloring pigment of say 1-3 microns, or even smaller than 1 micron. As a liquid carrier for the coloring materials, or either of them, (particularly for the first printing if an intaglio roll be employed) a solvent, which later evaporates may be used, for exampde, Varnolene (the varnish and paint makers petroleum naphtha), and may or may not be completely dried before the second printing. The printing mediums may be andpreferably are within the following tables in which the parts are expressed by weight:

All-over printing medium Parts Penetrating coloring pigment 2-20 Drying oil -20 Solvent 50-1001 Skip-space printing medium Parts Penetrating coloring pigment 5-35 Drying oil and resin"; 60-80 Mineral whites 0 25 ,Solvent 020 If desired, an additional coating of clear varnish or the like may be employed following the second printing operation.

If the plastic type of porous material be employed, the printing will necessarily be subsequent to the 'adhesive union of said plastic material to the base, but as before mentioned, if a fibrous sheet type of porous material be employed, it may be printed either prior or subsequent to its adhesive union to the base, and it is intended that the appended method claims shall covere the method of making of the product regardless of whether the porous material, if of the fibrous sheet type, be

printed prior or subsequent to uniting the same- 'with the base.

Having described our invention, what we wish to claim and secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

l. The combination with a hard-surface fiexible floor covering having a base with a wearing layer formed from a porous material adhesively united thereto, of coloring material held at and near the 'exposed surface of said wearing layer and extending from said exposed Surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer and presenting a vari-colored all-over decorated background, ad ditional coloring material on the exposed surface of said wearing layer presenting on said all-over decorated background a printed, ornamental skip-space design extending from said surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer.

' 2. The combination with a hard-surfaced flex- 4 ible floor covering having a base with a wearing 575 ,layer formed from a porous material adhesively 3. The combination with a hard-surfaced flexible floor covering having a base with a wearing layer formed from a porous material adhesively united thereto, of coloring material held at, near and continuously throughout the exposed surface of said wearing layer and extending from said exposed surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer and presenting an all-over decorated background, additional coloring material on the exposed surface of said wearing layer presenting on said all-over decoratedbackground a printed, ornamental skip-space design extending from said surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer.

4. The combination with a hard-surfaced flexible floor covering having a base with a wearing layer formed from a porous 'material adhesively united thereto, of coloring material held at and near the exposed surface of said wearing layer and extending fromsaid exposed surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer and presenting an allover descorated background, additional coloring material on the exposed surface of said wearing layer presenting on'said all-over decorated background a printed, ornamental skip-space design overlapping and obscuring certain areas of said background coloring and extending from said surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer.

5. The combination with a hard-surfaced flexible floor covering comprising a base with a Wearing layer formedfrom a porous material adhesively united thereto, coloring material held at and near the exposed surface of said wearing layer and extending from said exposed surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer and presenting a printed all-over decorated background, additional coloring material including pigment and drying oil on the exposed surface of said wearing layer presenting on said all-over decorated background a printed, ornamental skip-space'design extending from said-surface down throught at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer.

6. A- hard-surfaced flexible floor covering comprising a Wearing layer formed from a porous material, coloring material held at and near the exposed surface of said wearing layer and extending from said exposed surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer and presenting a vari-colored all-over decorated background, additional coloring material on the exposed surface of said wearing layer presenting on said all-over decorated background a printed, ornamental skip-space design extending from said surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer.

'7. The method of making a hard-surfaced flexible floor covering material having adhesively decorated background an ornamental skip-space design extending from "said surface down through at least a major portionjof the vertical depth of said wearing layer. I

8. The method of making a hard-surfaced flexible floor covering material having adhesively united to the flexible base, a wearing layer of porous material, which consists in printing upon the exposed surface .of said porous material with a limited quantity of liquid coloring material and binder held at and near the exposed surface of said porous material and extending from the exposed surface thereof down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth thereof to present a vari-colored all-over decorated background and thereafter with additional coloring material including a drying-oil binder block printing on the exposed surface of said porous material to provide on said all-over decorated background an ornamental skip-space design extending from'said surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer.

9. The method of making a hard-surfaced flex-- ible floor covering material having adhesively united to the flexible base,-a wearing layer of porous material, which consists in printing upon.

the exposed surface of said porous material with a limited quantity of liquid coloring material and drying-oil binder held at and near the exposed surface of said porous material and extending from the exposed surface thereofdown through at least a major portion of the vertical depth thereof to present avari-colored all-over decorated background and thereafter with additional coloring material including a drying-oil binder block printing on the exposed surface of said porous material to provide on said all-over decorated background an ornamental skip-space design extending from said surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer.

10. The method of makng a hard-surfaced flexible floor covering material having adhesviely liquid coloring materialporous material, which consists united to the flexible base, a wearing layer of porous material, which consists in;roll printing upon the exposed surface of said porous material with a-limited quantity of liquid coloring material including a hardening binder held at and near the exposed surface of said porous material and extending from the exposed surface thereof down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth thereof to present a vari-colored' all-over decorated background and thereafter with addi tional coloring material block printing on the exposed surface of said porous material to provide on said all-over decorated background an ornamental skip-space design extending from said surface down throughout at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer.

11. The method of making a hard-surfaced flexible floor covering material having adhesively united to a flexible base, a wearing layer of upon the exposed surface of 'said'porous material with a limited quantity 'of liquid coloring material and binder held at and near the exposed surface of said porous material and extending from the exposed surface thereof down through at least a'major portion of the vertical v depth thereof to present a vari-colored all-over decoratedbackground and thereafter, but before said liquidcoloring material and binder have completely dried, with binder and additional coloring material block printing on the exposed surface of said porous material to provide on said I all-over decorated background an ornamental skip-space design extending from said surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer.

12; The method of making ahard-surfaced flexible floor covering material which consists in providing a wearing layer of porous material,

- printing upon the exposed surface of said porous material with a limited quantity of liquid coloring material held at and near the exposed surface of said porous material and extending from the exposed surface thereof down through at least,

a major portion of the vertical depth thereof to present a vari-colored all-over decorated background and thereafter with additional coloring material block printing on the exposed surface of said porous material to provide on said all-over decorated background-an ornamental skip-space design extending from said surface down through at least a major portion of the vertical depth of said wearing layer. 7 I

JAMES E. GRAHAM. EDWIN M. LINES.

in printing 

